The student section looked horrendous on tv, worst I've seen ever. However, this is going on at all stadiums across the country. Someone link the pic of the USC game at kickoff and late in the first quarter. I'm quite certain the AD probably had an ulcer.
Yes, we need our own cozy 50k seat stadium with some luxury seats. That'd be nice, I hope it is at least on Blake James radar.
Yes, our international students are great for The U, but are bad for The U in things that dont matter, like football attendance.
I've got news for everyone, the situation is not good for the owners of the 100K+ stadiums, even Alabama has put a few student sections on notice for leaving early or not showing up. The sports world is quietly freaking out about empty stadiums. AD's and Presidents are quietly freaking out about the students not "caring" about their football programs. They've done the math, the baby boomers are eventually not going to be buying tickets in large quanities and there is literally nobody on the waiting list anymore or the waiting lists are dwindling. Student surveys about the situation are vague at best, but my own intuition on the young guys I work with probably have to do with HD tv, partying, and texting/facebooking/instagraming/tweeting ad nauseum.
Now on our own situation, that stadium is absolutely abysmal. I dont know if Miami fans are WOAT, because there are factors into fan behavior. I've lived on both coasts and in San Diego, LA, and Miami, the attitude is eerily similar. For sports events people show up late, leave early and for the most part, the vast majority of people in the area just dont care about sports. Bars in the stadium sound like a good idea for the money makers, but they have one very bad affect: Its easy to leave your seat for the whole game and get a better view munching on your nachos and kicking back your beer in a more comfortable seat. Put bars in any stadium and I guarantee that any scorching hot game, people will leave their seats and go to the bar. At that point, what the **** did you buy a ticket for? But I digress.
We cant do anything about the students. That stadium is about an hour from the stadium and if every school across the country is having a hard time dealing with kids who cant text and take pics inside the stadium so they leave and go back to the tailgate/party, I dont know what we can do? They already moved them to the hottest part of the stadium (I know, thats where my tickets were for two years) so what to do? I knew that move was going to backfire as I've had to seek shelter a couple of times. So, what to do...No easy answers.
